Sarah Erickson lecturing about brush lettering techniques in Professor Mendenhall’s Typography course.
Thursday, November 3, TAI Creative Advertising and Graphic Design Professor Cheryl Mendenhall had a guest speaker lecture in her Typography course. The speaker was TAI Alum Sarah Erickson (’15), who is a designer for Doodle Dog Creative and owner of and designer for Sarah Ann Design. Erickson specializes in Calligraphy and lectured the students about the ins and outs of Calligraphy in regards to Typography.
Professor Mendenhall’s students were fascinated by Erickson’s lecture, and it is always exciting for professors to have former students come back, especially to lecture on their career and area of expertise.
“Sarah has amazing lettering skills!” Professor Mendenhall said. “It was great to have her back on campus and show us how she’s using these skills in her work and to teach us a few lettering techniques.”
Sample of work by Erickson for Sarah Ann Design. Photo Credit: Sarah Ann Design
TAI professors love to have guest speakers lecture in their classes to provide students with a different perspective from someone currently in the industry.
Some of the many homeless signs collected by Professor Baronet
TAI Creative Advertising Professor Willie Baronet has been purchasing and collecting homeless signs from people across the country since 1993. Over the last twenty-three years he has collected over 1,000 signs. For years, Professor Baronet has displayed these homeless signs in exhibits all across the country in his art project “WE ARE ALL HOMELESS.” This past April, his project was turned into a documentary following Professor Baronet’s 31-day cross-country trip buying homeless signs in 24 cities.
The documentary, “Signs of Humanity,” was released in April, and has since been accepted into several film festivals across the country, including the 2016 Dallas International Film Festival and the Chain Film Festival. The film will be playing at the UNAFF 2016 International Documentary Film Festival in San Francisco on Thursday, October 27, and the Unspoken Human Rights Film Festival in Utica, New York on Friday, October 28.
One of the interviews from “Signs of Humanity”
Although Professor Baronet has been collecting signs for over twenty years, this was the first time he had done something so concentrated.
“[The documentary] was the first time I did such in depth interviews with folks on the street,” Professor Baronet said. “And the media attention from the trip helped to make it clear how many people struggle with what to do when they see someone with a sign, and often have mixed feelings about what to do. I began to realize this project helped some people voice those concerns and have conversations they might not otherwise have.”
“Signs of Humanity” has given Professor Baronet an amazing platform to voice the issue of homelessness and find a way to help. In making the film, Professor Baronet and the other filmmakers partnered with many organizations that help homeless people.
“Help USA sponsored the exhibit in New York at the end of the documentary,” Professor Baronet said. “They also sponsored exhibits at both political conventions this summer in Cleveland and Philly. Maria Cuomo Cole, the chairman of Help USA, is also an activist and filmmaker and has been a big supporter of this project. The Bridge has also been a big supporter, and I also spoke at their annual fundraiser in 2015. They helped sponsor events around our premiere at the Dallas International Film Festival as well. I’ve also partnered with Stewpot and the Housing Crisis Center on projects in the past. All of these organizations are doing great work for the homeless.”
Although Professor Baronet didn’t document many of his early encounters purchasing homeless signs, he remembers quite a few people that have stuck out to him over the years.
Michael from Omaha and Professor Baronet taking a selfie
“There was a woman who sold me a sign that her late husband had made,” Professor Baronet said. “There was a man in Austin who wanted to talk about art and his relationship with his father. Michael in Omaha was a veteran missing one leg, who I had a powerful connection to. Cheryl in Detroit is the only person so happy that I was buying her sign that she reached in the car and hugged my neck. Elli in Baltimore was only 17; she was Romanian and spoke five languages, so full of promise and doing what she could to take care of her family.”
One person in particular Professor Baronet has kept in contact with is a man named Eddie who he met in Philadelphia.
“Eddie had a sign that said ‘What if God occasionally visits Earth disguised as a homeless person panhandling to see how charitable we are. Completely hypothetical of course.’” Professor Baronet said. “Eddie and I have become friends, and I’ve reconnected with him twice in Philly. He is a former heroin addict, and now is working and sponsoring others in AA. He and I spoke together on a panel at the opening of a ‘WE ARE ALL HOMELESS’ exhibit at the University of Pennsylvania in September of 2016.”
One of the women featured in “Signs of Humanity”
Over his years of collecting homeless signs, Professor Baronet has gained a new perspective on the meaning of “home.”
“I’ve gotten a deeper understanding about what ‘home’ means, to me and to others,” Professor Baronet said. “I’ve learned that we all share many of the pains and privileges of the human experience. Holding a sign on the street is simply asking for help, something I’ve had to do many times in the course of my life. And I’m lucky to have friends and family as a safety net when I need something.”
Professor Baronet hopes his documentary can take away some of the preconceived notions surrounding the homeless.
“It can be easy to put people in boxes based on judgments we may make,” Professor Baronet said. “Even waving and smiling and seeing the humanity in each other can change the dynamic between the housed and those on the streets.”
Last week, both undergraduate and graduate students from TAI participated in multiple networking events making connections with companies across DFW.
Tuesday evening, TAI graduate students went to Ad2Dallas’ Speed Career Connections event. The event had professionals from numerous agencies, including The Company of Others, Inspire Agency, The Richards Group, ReedMitchell, SocialCentiv, TM Advertising and Resolution Media. The Creative Circle also helped attendants by reviewing resumes and providing career guidance.
Attendants at the Ad2Dallas Networking Event Photo credit: Ad2Dallas
“I really enjoyed the Ad2Dallas event because it was a fun and casual way to meet working industry professionals,” TAI graduate student Lauren Lombardo said. “They offered some very insightful advice about entering the advertising job market, and it was interesting to hear different perspectives within the industry. It also helped me work on my social skills, and I feel confident now walking up to people and starting a conversation. The Creative Circle even had a resume reviewing station where they offered critiques, which was quite helpful. Overall, it was a great opportunity to network with potential mentors or employers, and I had a wonderful time.”
Thursday afternoon, TAI undergraduate and graduate students attended a Communications Networking Event, jointly hosted by the SMU Hegi Family Career Development Center, TAI, the SMU Chapters of PRSSA and AAF (Ad Club). The event included employers such as Brunswick Group, D Magazine, Omni Hotels & Resorts, Southwest Airlines, The Infinite Agency, TracyLocke Advertising Agency, Weber Shandwick, and more. This event offered students the opportunity to meet industry professionals and make valuable connections for the future.
“The SMU Communications Networking Event was a great experience for me and my fellow peers,” TAI undergraduate student Monica Gonzalez Glenn said. “We got the opportunity to meet some amazing employers from a variety of fields and industries here in Dallas. The employers were very excited to meet us and enthusiastically responded to every question we had. Based on my post-event experience, recruiters have been extremely open to shadowing requests, internship interviews, and willingness to network more.”
A similar career and networking event will take place in the spring on Wednesday, March 1 from 3-5pm in the Hughes-Trigg ballroom. The Temerlin Advertising Institute loves to partner with local Dallas and SMU organizations to provide opportunities for our students to make connections and further their advertising careers.
Friday October 21, Temerlin Advertising Institute hosted a lecture by Visiting Scholar Dr. Kevin Wise, an advertising professor at the University of Illinois. Dr. Wise discussed his research, “Effects of Movement on Cognitive and Emotional Responses to Stimuli Viewed on Mobile Phones.” His research explores the psychology underlying interactive media use, suggesting that from a cognitive perspective physical cues may activate psychological concepts that, in turn, influence psychological responses to stimuli. Many SMU staff and students attended the lecture.
Dr. Wise lecturing at SMU.
“Mobile devices are ubiquitously prevalent in today’s world,” Adeline Tolliver, Instructional Designer for SMU’s CTE, said. “We see students and faculty around campus walking or standing while hypnotized by their mobile devices and dwelling in the digital as much as in the physical. Dr. Wise’s work on the evaluation of emotional responses by stimuli in mobile devices, while participants were in motion or still, sheds a light on the potential impact of movement to the cognitive and emotional responses to stimuli and inform scholars in the field of advertisement as well as other fields. His session was very informative, and I was able to identify many relevant findings that could have significant impact in my field of teaching and learning.”
At the University of Illinois, Dr. Wise teaches Advertising Research Methods, and he received his PhD from Stanford University. He is the Chair of the Information Systems Division of ICA, and serves on the editorial review boards of Media Psychology and the Journal of Interactive Advertising.
Temerlin Advertising Institute was honored to host Dr. Wise for a lecture on his research. TAI is passionate about staying informed on all current topics in the advertising industry, hosting guest speakers periodically throughout the year.
Dallas, and surrounding suburbs, is full of headquarters for many large national companies. Many of these companies offer a variety of internships in many different fields. Southwest Airlines is one of those companies, headquartered just fifteen minutes away from SMU’s campus. This fall semester TAI Strategic Brand Management student Camryn La Sala has taken the semester off to intern for Southwest Airlines. La Sala is midway through her internship, and has loved every minute of it.
La Sala on her trip to Chicago for WOW! The Customer Day.
La Sala applied for multiple fall internship positions with Southwest Airlines last spring. She was contacted in late April to do a phone interview, and had a final in-person interview in mid-July.
“At the time [of my phone interview] I was taking classes at SMU’s campus in Taos, New Mexico so finding cell service was a bit interesting to say the least, but I made it work!” La Sala said. “After not hearing back from Southwest for weeks, I assumed they found someone else to fill the internship position. Then come mid-July they asked if I was able to come to Headquarters and do an in-person interview. I spent my summer back home in New York, so they graciously flew me down the night before my interview and put me up in a hotel room at the Double Tree not too far from Dallas Love Field Airport and Headquarters. About two weeks after my in-person interview I heard back from the Southwest Airlines hiring team and was offered the position!”
As the Brand Communication Intern, La Sala is part of the greater Brand Management team. Although her responsibilities change on a regular basis, her overall job is the make her supervisor and team’s projects easier by providing them any assistance they may need.
“Every day as a Brand Communications Intern at Southwest Airlines is different,” La Sala said. “No matter what, I know that I will walk into the office every day to a welcoming team that strives to make sure that I have the best internship experience possible. This is my fourth internship, and I definitely could not say that about all my past experiences.”
La Sala has especially enjoyed the culture at Southwest Airlines, where she feels like part of the team and not just an intern.
“Every employee at Southwest Airlines is treated like an equal, including interns,” La Sala said. “When I was working at the Chicago Airport for WOW! The Customer Day last month, my team consisted of two full time employees as well as the Senior Director of Marketing, whom made a point to ask me my name and have a conversation with me. It is important to be nice to everyone because at Southwest Airlines you really never know if you’re talking to an entry level employee or the VP of marketing.”
So far, La Sala’s favorite memory was being flown to Chicago for Southwest’s “WOW! The Customer Day,” part of Southwest’s YES Activation. She was part of a team that gave away prizes to customers, including Rapid Reward vouchers, drink coupons, gift cards from Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Dunkin’ Donuts.
“For the whole day we interacted with Southwest Airlines customers by playing gate games,” La Sala said. “At one point we had a rock, paper, scissors tournament with eight different people! It was just a really awesome feeling handing out free gifts to our customers just because we love them. Southwest Airline’s culture is one of the most important parts about their company and it was nice to go out into the field and show that to people first hand. It was also very cool meeting the CEO of Southwest Airlines, Gary Kelly, when walking through the MDW airport later in the day!”
As Southwest Airlines is a major company, La Sala has found herself working on advertising campaigns that she had previously learned about in her advertising classes at SMU.
“It is super rewarding learning about certain things in a classroom and then coming to work at one of the best companies in the world to see it all play out,” La Sala said. “This internship has taught me to think on my feet. You always need to have your notepad ready, to prepare for the next task. You always want to be prepared. I bring my notebook with me to every meeting!”
Although she is only part of the way through her internship, La Sala is already advocating for Southwest, encouraging other students to apply.
“Interning at Southwest Airlines is worth the hype,” La Sala said. “I could not have asked for a more amazing company to work for. If any other SMU students are thinking about applying to intern or work at Southwest Airlines, do it! It will be a great experience, no matter what the outcome is!”
In the upcoming weeks, TAI Professor Eunjin (Anna) Kim will be hosting multiple guest speakers in her Digital Media Strategy 1 class. She is inviting any interested students to come sit in her class on the day of these speakers as well.
James Moore, Chief Revenue Officer at Simpli.fi
The first guest speaker is James Moore, Chief Revenue Officer at Simpli.fi, specializing in Programmatic Advertising & DSP (Demand-Side Platform). On Tuesday, October 18, Moore will speak about Programmatic Advertising. He will address the evolution of online marketing and how data driven RTB (Real Time Bidding) has changed the way media is bought and sold; common tactics and real life applications for programmatic display, mobile, video, and social; how the target works: Geo-Fencing, Site RT, Search RT, category and keyword contextual; and what’s next in programmatic.
Paul Buckley, President of D Custom
The second guest speaker will be Paul Buckley, President of D Custom, a Content Marketing Subsidiary of D Magazine. On Tuesday October 25, Buckley will speak about Content Marketing. He will be talking about content marketing strategy, trends, challenges and opportunities for digital marketers, and what’s next in content marketing.
The third guest speaker is Mike Wylie, Managing Director Dallas at Wpromote, specializing in Paid Search and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). On Thursday, October 27, Wylie will speak about Search Marketing.
The last guest speaker is Brad B. McCormick, Chief Digital Officer at Moroch, a Dallas-based top 10 independent ad agency. On Tuesday, November 8, McCormick will speak about Social and Mobile Media Marketing.
Detailed topics for the last two speakers will be distributed soon.
While these lectures will occur in Professor Kim’s Digital Media Strategy 1 class, all interested students are welcome to attend any of the lectures. All lectures will be at 12:30pm in ULEE 234.
Being an advertising student in Dallas, one tends to hear about local agencies a lot. Luckily Dallas is full of great agencies, many of which offer intern positions that provide valuable real world experience. This summer, TAI Creative student Tanner Thompson had the opportunity to work as an Art Director Intern at The Richards Group.
As with most jobs, Thompson applied online, sent in his resume and portfolio, had a phone interview, and finally an in-person interview, where he was offered the job. But Thompson soon learned that this position was not like any other job.
Thompson and a group of interns.
“What’s so fun about being in advertising is that there isn’t a ‘typical day on the job,’” Thompson said. “Every day you get to do something different. I know that’s a cop out though, so I will say that a lot of my time was spent concepting ideas for campaigns, ads, layouts, website content, and the like, as well as doing tons of art direction and layouts for a bunch of different brands.”
Thompson worked on many different brands throughout his internship, including Chick Fil A, The Home Depot, Eyeglass World/Oakley, KeyBank, The Main Event, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Schwab Advisor Services, AAA and Shamrock Farms. But his main clients were TXU Energy and South University.
“My favorite client to work on was Chick Fil A,” Thompson said. “The ‘Eat Mor Chikin’ cows have social media pages, and my copywriter and I came up with all the stuff the cows posted for the month of August, which was a ton of fun. I also go to do some in-house work for the agency. I designed the Snapchat Geofiler for the entire agency, which was a blast.”
As much fun as Thompson’s client work was, his favorite memory involved a task given to Thompson and six other interns finding a creative way to remind fellow employees to get their food out of the fridge on Fridays. They came up with a concept of someone in a giant sandwich costume, called “The Stanwhich” walking around the agency to remind everyone to get their food.
Thompson and other interns walking around with “The Stanwich.”
“We needed to get Stan’s permission to not only let us have a giant sandwich walk around the office every Friday which, as you could imagine, may be a bit distracting, but we also had to get his permission to use his likeness with the name ‘The Stanwich.’” Thompson said. “This meant we [had] to present our idea to Stan. No intern groups had ever presented creative work directly to Stan before, and as honored as we all were, we were also pretty nervous. The full-timers that were helping us with the project were super pumped that we would get to present to Stan, but also warned us that he may kill one or two aspects of the idea. We went into the presentation fully expecting to come out with a few bumps and bruises, but instead he ended up loving our entire idea and we got the ‘go ahead.’ The moment right after Stan walked out of the room, we all stood there for a second, silent, and then just exploded with happiness. Nobody could believe that we had just gotten the Stan Richards to let us have a sandwich walk around the office on a weekly basis. Everybody was jumping around, high-fiving and just laughing like crazy. The stress of the presentation was gone, and it couldn’t have gone better!”
Through all of these incredible opportunities, Thompson learned valuable lessons about The Richards Group, advertising, and working as an intern.
“I learned more than I could possibly [share], but I’ll try and hit the highlights,” Thompson said. “Unless someone asks, you’re not an intern. Say yes to everything. Nobody wants you to fail, so don’t. Outdoor billboards should never have more than eight words on them. ‘Make the logo bigger.’ Don’t overuse the intern excuse, but don’t underuse it either. Presentations are only scary if you’re unprepared. People are always late to meetings; that doesn’t mean you can be too. Stan Richards is the man. Make friends with everyone. Don’t forget your key card; everyone likes to laugh at the intern stuck in the stairwell.”
Thompson with another group of interns.
As Thompson’s internship provided him with many valuable takeaways, the most important thing he learned was about his future.
“[This internship] showed me that I’m on the right path,” Thompson said. “I had a blast going to work everyday this summer. In part because of the people, as well as the work.”
Many people in the advertising industry will never experience being a part of creating the new culture at a brand new agency or location. But this summer, TAI Creative student Samantha Butz had this opportunity while interning for Weller Media Agency at their new office in New York City.
One of the walls inside the New York office at Weller Media Agency.
Weller Media Agency is a digital creative agency headquartered in London that focuses on “connecting brands, talent and audiences”. A year ago, they crossed the pond and opened a new office in New York City (NYC). The opportunity to work alongside major musicians and record labels while simultaneously building and agency created a unique experience for Butz.
“I initially contacted the London office because my other advertising friend had interned with them through SMU the previous summer,” Butz said. “[But] since I couldn’t get a work visa, they offered me a position at their NYC office.”
Butz was hired as a creative intern, and worked with the digital team on different musician’s collateral. Her clients included BØRNS, Zella Day, Vevo, and several other artists.
“The days would fluctuate depending on what was happening in the client’s lives,” Butz said, “so, if one musician was planning on releasing a single, we would focus on that client for the majority of the day to create content for them. Content could be anything from a promotional clip of their music video, a gif from a picture of them, or a poster design from a concert picture. My favorite memory was when my design was chosen for BØRNS’ social media campaign. It was crazy to see my designs on his Facebook page!”
Because the NYC office is so new, there were usually only six people working there on a given day. But this provided Butz the unique opportunity to work directly with the Digital Creative Designer, Senior Digital Strategist, and Head of Digital Marketing and Communications. She also got to help out the London office, working with the Senior Designer and Director of Creative Services in the UK.
Butz enjoying New York City.
“This internship was a great experience for me because it gave me an opportunity to explore a different segment of the industry,” Butz said. “Almost all of my projects were digitally driven which is something I hadn’t had a lot of previous experience with. The internship affirmed that I am interested in a creative career with clients that I’m passionate about.”
Throughout her internship, Butz worked directly on many client projects. She learned a lot about working with various types of clients, how a small but growing agency operates, and how to apply skills she’s developed through her advertising classes.
“I learned a lot of technical skills while also learning a lot about client-designer relationships,” Butz said. “Since a lot of our clients were musicians, they were very particular about all aspects of their band or identity. I had to learn how to absorb a brand’s aesthetic in my designs yet produce new and creative content. The creative skills [I learned in my advertising classes], ideation, brainstorming, concepting, and executing, all came into play during my internship.”
Butz in the Ice Cream Museum in New York.
Butz also gained valuable life experience, learning what it’s like to live in a big city by herself for an extended period of time.
“More than anything, I learned a ton by just living in New York City by myself for a summer!” Butz said. “It’s a totally different lifestyle than in Dallas, or any other place I’ve visited, and I think it’s a great learning experience for anyone. One of my favorite experiences of the summer was being able to visit the Museum of Ice Cream, the art project that was open for a month. Something I loved about NY was the spontaneity and the ideas there; there are so many people with so many different and amazing ideas, you’re constantly seeing or learning something new every day.”
Friday September 30, Temerlin Advertising Institute hosted a lecture by Visiting Scholar Dr. Jooyoung Kim, an associate advertising professor at University of Georgia. Dr. Kim discussed his research, “Advertising Engagement: Conceptualization and Measurement,” with many SMU students and faculty attending the event. Through his research study, Dr. Kim developed an advertising engagement concept and measurement scale that offers other researchers a ground for further study of engagement. It also provides a useful tool in assessing effectiveness of video advertisements.
“[It was a] fascinating presentation by a visiting scholar covering what advertising engagement really means and how it can be measured,” Program Specialist for SMU CAPE Lea Worth said. “[It was] interesting to see what kind of research is being conducted by other schools and how they approach their research. I look forward to hopefully seeing this method of measuring engagement being adopted by the broader ad industry in the future”
At the University of Georgia, Dr. Kim teaches advertising management, advertising campaigns, advertising research, global advertising, and quantitative research methods for both undergraduate and graduate students. He has been published in various academic journals, including Journal of Advertising, Psychology & Marketing, and Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.
Dr. Kim lecturing on engagement.
In addition, he has been invited to share his research with several global companies in South Korea such as LG, Hyundai Motor Company, and KT. Recently during summer 2016, he was a visiting professor at Saatchi & Saatchi in New York City through Advertising Educational Foundation (AEF). Dr. Kim is an active member of American Academy of Advertising and serves on the Editorial Review Board of Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Interactive Advertising.
Temerlin Advertising Institute was honored to host Dr. Kim for a lecture on his research. TAI is passionate about staying informed on all current topics in the advertising industry, hosting guest speakers periodically throughout the year.
Many advertising students dream of working in Chicago or New York City, but competition is fierce and many never get the opportunity. This summer TAI Creative Advertising student Idara Akpan took the chance and applied to work in New York City as an intern for Razorfish Health, part of the Publicis Health network.
Akpan applied online, and was then asked to conduct a video interview. The company sent her questions, and she answered them in a short video. She then went through two rounds of phone interviews, including a final interview with the Senior Creative Director.
Working as a copywriting intern, Akpan had the opportunity to participate hands-on on several client projects.
“I created taglines, concepts, and ideas for the Purdue [Pharma] franchise,” Akpan said. “I created guidelines to help with consistency between brands in the Purdue franchise, created and concepted Razorfish Health in-house promotion, and participated in a Publicis Health internship-wide project to create a campaign, Apple Watch app, and phone app for a seasonal allergy OTC product.”
Akpan (far right) and a team of fellow interns.
A typical day on the job included a status meeting regarding all the clients, in which people from the account, strategy, tech, and creative departments would all give updates. Then Akpan would check in with her manager to start working on taglines, brainstorm, or produce copy for the Purdue franchise websites.
“I mostly worked with the creative team, both art directors and other writers,” Akpan said. “I also worked with other interns around the Publicis Healthcare Group Communications network. My favorite memory was staying late for a brainstorming session. It was great to be swapping different ideas next to the Group Creative Director!”
Brainstorming became a big part of Akpan’s internship, and she attributes her brainstorming skills to her advertising classes.
Akpan in the streets of New York City.
“[The biggest skill that I had going into the internship was knowing how to] brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm!” Akpan said. “No idea is a bad idea. Put everything – and I mean everything – on the table.”
Her internship also provided a glimpse into what a career in creative advertising is like.
“The internship gave me a better insight on a different side of the industry,” Akpan said. “It was awesome to be in NYC and truly see how each of the departments work together to reach their goal. It also showed me how competitive it is to be a creative in NYC! There are so many creatives, you have to work extra hard to stand out.”
